9. I'll Stand By You The Pretenders
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5pECaW-VMI This could be interpreted as a song of feminine submission, but it's not, it's simply saying that true love is all about support, devotion and togetherness - regardless of gender. The message is very simple, 'Nothing you could confess could make me love you less, I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you.' 'Stand By Your Man' this isn't. Is it a song about friendship or romantic love? Well the answer is both, and the song says that both things go hand in hand. This certainly isn't the tale of the first rush of love, instead its story of the security that love can provide. Many songs featured here are all about selflessness, and this is one of the best examples that you'll find about that feeling. It also shows the importance of the singers voice in delivering a wonderful story of love, Chrissie Hynde sounds like an angel here, and if you need more proof of how amazingly she delivers this, just have a (quick) listen to Girls Aloud's version the voice needs to really work to bring these stories to life and here she does that in spades. On a side note, the video features Chrissie Hynde singing to someone who is the spit of Win Butler from Arcade Fire, now that's an idea for a dream duet of this song if I ever heard one.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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